OurType Corbeau, designed by André Simard, is a special addition to OurType's collection of sans serif typefaces. Integrating gentle curves into an overall programme of squarish forms, André Simard has drawn on the lessons of predecessors such as Eurostile and FF Meta to arrive at Corbeau's fully contemporary design. The design is precise and approachable, and in keeping with the geometry of the roman, a slanted roman is partnered to it. The result is an open, uncomplicated typeface that is easy to use for everyday typography of all kinds. The generous range of weights and the proportions and details of its several widths give Corbeau an impressive efficiency in text settings and a commanding presence in display.The Corbeau family consists of eight weights of roman and slanted italic designs, each in three widths: condensed, normal and extended. The character set includes small caps; lining, oldstyle and small cap figures (each in tabular and proportional widths); fractions; comprehensive scientific superiors and inferiors, numerators and denominators; case sensitive punctuation sets; mathematical and monetary symbols (in tabular and proportional widths); arrows; standard and discretionary ligatures; and a complete range of accents for all Western, Central and East European languages based on the Latin script.

Noel Gallagher’s statement that reading fiction is a “fucking waste of time” and readers are “putting themselves a tiny little bit above the rest of us” – is a valuable contribution.

Cathy Nicol: Isle of Joy

Vince Smith met bandmates Jim Kelly and Nancy Gibbs at a Sex Pistols concert, where he tried to kiss Sid Vicious’ guitar and got a bloody nose. Together they formed Aftershock, and for a while they made a lot of noise, a bit of money and caused a sensation wherever they went.